Bucket vacuum lid

ABSTRACT

Such a vacuum-interface lid may have the ability to adapt common containers to work with a vacuum system to safely intercept, collect, transport, and store materials with minimal handling provides. A vacuum-interface lid may include, but is not limited to: an output port couplable to a vacuum source; an intake port couplable to a material conduit; and a flange portion including a seal configured to engage a top rim of a container.

PRIORITY

The present application is related to the following listed application(s) (the “Related Applications”). All subject matter of the Related Applications and of any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the Related Applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and to the extent such subject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

The present application is related to, and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/052,796, entitled VACUUM BUCKET LID, naming Paul A. Wilson as inventor, filed Jul. 16, 2020.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to a lid configured for adapting a container for use with a vacuum system for material pickup. For example, commercially available vacuum cleaners intended for material pickup are large and cumbersome. When full, some may contain over 125 pounds of material making it difficult for workers to lift and dispose of. Depending on the worksite, contaminated material may have to be carried up/down flights of stairs requiring transfer of the material into smaller containers. This extra handling increases the risk of worker contamination and requires the halting of work while emptying the unit. The induction of material into the vacuum may also result in the contamination of the vacuum filter system which must then be carefully cleaned.

SUMMARY

The present invention may provide a vacuum-interface lid which may adapt commercially available, inexpensive, plastic bucket containers including, but not limited to, 5- and 6-gallon containers. Such a vacuum-interface lid has the ability to adapt these common containers to work with a vacuum system to safely intercept, collect, transport, and store materials with minimal handling. A vacuum-interface lid according to the present invention may include, but is not limited to: an output port couplable to a vacuum source; an intake port couplable to a material conduit; and a flange portion including a seal configured to engage a top rim of a container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of vacuum system including a vacuum-interface lid;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a vacuum interface lid coupled to a container;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a vacuum interface lid coupled to a container; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a vacuum interface lid coupled to a container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Referring generally to FIGS. 1 through 3, a system 100 including a vacuum-interface lid 101 configured for adapting a container 102 for use with a vacuum pump 103 is shown.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the system 100 may include a vacuum pump 103 configured to draw airflow into the vacuum pump 103 via a vacuum conduit 104. The vacuum conduit 104 may be a flexible conduit (e.g., a ribbed plastic hose). A first end 105 of the vacuum conduit 104 may be coupled to (e.g. at least partially received within or receive a projection of) a vacuum intake port 106 of the vacuum pump 103. A second end 107 of the vacuum conduit 104 may be coupled to (e.g. at least partially received within or receive a projection of) an output port 108 of the vacuum-interface lid 101.

A material transfer conduit 109 may be provided which is configured to draw material 110 from a surface 111 into the container 102. The material 110 may be any liquid or particulate substance that has a weight and/or surface area profile such that it may be carried via a sufficiently powerful, high-velocity vacuum stream 112. The material transfer conduit 109 may be a flexible conduit (e.g. a ribbed plastic hose). A first end 113 of the material transfer conduit 109 may be coupled to (e.g. at least partially received within or receive a projection of) an intake port 114 of the vacuum-interface lid 101. A second end 115 of the material transfer conduit 109 may be coupled to (e.g. at least partially received within or receive a projection of) a pickup wand 116 configured to draw the material 110 into the material transfer conduit 109.

In one embodiment, the first end 105 of the vacuum conduit 104, the second end 107 of the vacuum conduit 104, first end 113 of the material transfer conduit 109, and/or the second end 115 of the material transfer conduit 109 may be received and frictionally retained in (e.g. dimensioned to frictionally engage an interior surface of) the vacuum intake port 106, the output port 108, the intake port 114 and/or the pickup wand 116, respectively. Alternately, the first end 105 of the vacuum conduit 104, the second end 107 of the vacuum conduit 104, first end 113 of the material transfer conduit 109, and/or the second end 115 of the material transfer conduit 109 may be coupled to the vacuum intake port 106, the output port 108, the intake port 114 and/or the pickup wand 116, respectively, via one or more coupling mechanisms (e.g. clips, clamps, and the like).

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in order to facilitate intake and retention of material 110 within the container 102, the vacuum-interface lid 101 may include various structures which allow the vacuum-interface lid 101 to couple with any number of containers 102 having standardized dimensions corresponding to the sizing of the vacuum-interface lid 101. The vacuum-interface lid 101 may have a body constructed of an any molded, high-density plastic (e.g., high-density polyethylene). As shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum-interface lid 101 may include a flange portion 117. A seal 118 (e.g. a rubber or plastic O-ring) may be disposed within the flange portion 117 such that when the vacuum-interface lid 101 is placed on a top rim 119 of the container 102 the seal 118 contacts the top rim 119 thereby creating a substantially air-tight interface between the container 102 and the vacuum-interface lid 101. Further, the flange portion 117 may be dimensioned such that it will physically engage and lock the vacuum-interface lid 101 to at least a portion the top rim 119 of the of the container 102. For example, the flange portion 117 may include a projection portion 120 which may snap over the top rim 119 (e.g. the internal diameter of the projection portion 120 may be less than a widest diameter of the top rim 119 of a standard 5-gallon container 102 such as 11.5-inches to 12-inches) to retain the seal 118 of the vacuum-interface lid 101 in contact with the top rim 119. The flange portion 117 may be integral to the vacuum-interface lid 101 (as opposed to a distinct component independently coupled to the vacuum-interface lid 101, e.g., via a hinge or other fastener) as a molded component of the vacuum-interface lid 101 itself to simplify fabrication of the vacuum-interface lid 101.

As shown in FIG. 4, in an alternate embodiment, the flange portion 117 of the vacuum-interface lid 101 may not include the projection portion 120 (or any other mechanism for locking the vacuum-interface lid 101 to the container 102). Rather, the flange portion 117 of the vacuum-interface lid 101 (either including or not including the seal 118) may have an external diameter greater than the container 102 (e.g. a diameter greater than a standard 5-gallon container such as 11.5-inches to 12-inches) and merely rest upon the top rim 119 of the container 102. It may be the case that the vacuum induced within the container 102 (e.g., a 1 psi pressure difference relative to ambient pressure) may be sufficient to retain the vacuum-interface lid 101 in a substantially static position relative to the container 102 thereby negating the need for the locking mechanism provided by the projection portion 120 as described above.

The vacuum-interface lid 101 may further include the output port 108 and the intake port 114. The output port 108 may be dimensioned to receive the second end 107 of the vacuum conduit 104. For example, the output port 108 may be configured to receive and retain a standard 1¼-inch diameter vacuum hose such as those of vacuum systems sold by ShopVac®. The intake port 114 may be dimensioned to receive the first end 113 of the material transfer conduit 109. For example, the intake port 114 may be configured to receive and retain a standard 2¼-inch vacuum hose such as those of vacuum systems sold by ShopVac®. In an alternate embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the output port 108 and or the intake port 114 may have multiple port wall portions 121 (e.g. an external port wall portion 121 a and an internal port wall portion 121 b) with each port wall portion 121 being dimensioned to receive a differently sized vacuum conduit 104 or material transfer conduit 109, respectively. For example, the external port wall portion 121 a may have a first diameter and the internal port wall portion 121 b may have a second diameter smaller than the first diameter. At least a portion of the internal port wall portion 121 b may be disposed inside the external port wall portion 121 a.

Upon application of a vacuum at the output port 108 via the vacuum pump 103, a low-pressure region is created within the container 102 which serves both to draw the vacuum-interface lid 101 against the top rim 119 and induce the vacuum stream 112 through the pickup wand 116/material transfer conduit 109 and within the container 102 between the intake port 114 and the output port 108. Upon application of the vacuum stream 112 to the material 110 via the pickup wand 116, the material 110 may become entrained within the vacuum stream 112 and be carried to the container 102. When the entrained material 110 reaches the interior of the container 102, its velocity may be substantially reduced due to the increase of cross sectional area of the vacuum stream 112 in the container 102. As the vacuum stream 112 no longer flows fast enough to maintain the entrainment of the material 110, the material 110 may drop out of the vacuum stream 112 into the bottom of the container 102 for collection.

The vacuum-interface lid 101 may further include a deflection tube 122. The deflection tube 122 may be disposed under the intake port 114 and may be configured to direct material 110 in a downward direction upon entry into the container 102 in order to prevent material 110 from migrating directly to the output port 108 of the vacuum-interface lid 101 before it drops out of suspension within the vacuum stream 112. Also, the deflection tube 122 may serve as a frictional contact point for at least a portion of the entrained material 110 to quickly slow its velocity and facilitate its collection in the container 102.

The vacuum-interface lid 101 may further include a check valve 123. For example, where the material 110 includes a liquid, the check valve 123 may be a float-type check valve including a float 124, a float retainer tube 125, and a seat 126. The float retainer tube 125 may include one or more apertures 127 which allow the vacuum stream 112 to enter the float retainer tube 125. The float 124 may be retained and able to freely move up and down within the float retainer tube 125. The check valve 123 may be disposed under the output port 108 where the vacuum conduit 104 attaches to the vacuum-interface lid 101. The check valve 123 may serve to prevent over-filling of the container 102 and a resulting contamination of the vacuum cleaner and/or the surrounding area. As the level of the collected material 110 (e.g. liquid) rises during operation, float 124 may correspondingly rise to the point that the vacuum stream 112 flowing through the float retainer tube 125 captures the float 124 pinning it against the seat 126 and substantially inhibiting the vacuum stream 112.

Following filling of a container 102 with material 110, the vacuum-interface lid 101 may be removed and a standard lid for the container 102 may be applied. As such, the material 110 will not have to be transferred to another container for transfer reducing the possibility of users or the surrounding area being contaminated by spillage.

Different features, variations, and multiple different embodiments have been shown and described with various details. What has been described in this application, at times, in terms of specific embodiments, is done for illustrative purposes only and without the intent to limit or suggest that what has been conceived is only one particular embodiment or specific embodiments. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to any single specific embodiment or enumerated variation. Many modifications, variations, and other embodiments will come to the mind of those skilled in the art, and which are intended to be and are in fact covered by this disclosure. It is indeed intended that the scope of this disclosure should be determined by a proper legal interpretation and construction of the disclosure, including equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art, and in reliance upon the complete disclosure present at the time of filing. 

What is claimed:
 1. A vacuum interface lid comprising: an output port couplable to a vacuum source; an intake port couplable to a material transfer conduit; a flange portion configured to engage a top rim of a container.
 2. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, wherein the output port couplable to a vacuum source includes: an output port configured to at least partially receive an end portion of a vacuum conduit coupled to the vacuum source.
 3. The vacuum interface lid of claim 2, wherein the output port configured to at least partially receive an end portion of a vacuum conduit coupled to the vacuum source includes: an output port configured to frictionally retain the end portion of the vacuum conduit coupled to the vacuum source.
 4. The vacuum interface lid of claim 3, wherein output port configured to frictionally retain the end portion of the vacuum conduit coupled to the vacuum source includes: an output port configured to frictionally retain an end portion of a vacuum conduit having a diameter of at least one of 1¼-inches, 1½-inches, or 2¼-inches.
 5. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, wherein the output port couplable to a vacuum source includes: an output port having an external wall portion having a first diameter and an internal wall portion having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, the internal wall portion being at least partially disposed within the external wall portion.
 6. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, wherein the intake port couplable to a material transfer conduit includes: an intake port configured to at least partially receive an end portion of the material transfer conduit.
 7. The vacuum interface lid of claim 5, wherein the intake port configured to at least partially receive the end portion of the material transfer conduit includes: an intake port configured to frictionally retain the end portion of the material transfer conduit.
 8. The vacuum interface lid of claim 6, wherein the intake port configured to frictionally retain the end portion of the material transfer conduit includes: an intake port configured to frictionally retain an end portion of the material transfer conduit having a diameter of at least one of 1¼-inches, 1½-inches, or 2¼-inches.
 9. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, wherein the flange portion includes: a seal disposed at least partially within the flange portion and configured to contact the top rim of the container when the flange portion engages the top rim of the container.
 10. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, wherein the flange portion includes: a projection portion having an internal diameter less than a widest diameter of the top rim of the container and configured to lock the vacuum interface lid to the container.
 11. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, wherein the flange portion has an external diameter greater than a widest diameter of the top rim of the container.
 12. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, wherein the flange portion is integral to the vacuum interface lid.
 13. The vacuum interface lid of claim 12, wherein the flange portion integral to the vacuum interface lid includes: a flange portion that is a molded portion of the vacuum interface lid.
 14. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, further comprising: a deflection tube disposed under the intake port.
 15. The vacuum interface lid of claim 1, further comprising: a check valve disposed under the output port.
 16. The vacuum interface lid of claim 15, wherein the check valve includes: a float retainer tube disposed under the output port; and a float disposed within the float retainer tube, wherein the float is configured to rise within the float retainer tube during filling of the container with material until the float becomes pinned against a seat of the output port. 